


Gone Fishing

by Rhys (rhyssj)



Category: NSYNC, Popslash
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-11-16
Updated: 2003-11-16
Packaged: 2019-04-20 08:09:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14256651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhyssj/pseuds/Rhys
Summary: Joey and Justin's annual fishing weekend.





	Gone Fishing

**Author's Note:**

> **happyfic** story. 
> 
> Thanks to Pierson for the beta.

All the islands in the ocean  
All the heavens in the motion  
Let me show you the world in my eyes  
\- "World In My Eyes", Depeche Mode 

~~~ 

Justin was late, late, _late_ by the time his momma pulled into Joey’s driveway. There were a myriad of reasons for that, but Justin hated being late, especially with an audience, and fuckhead Chris was sitting on the hood of Joey’s new car, holding a sign that said "Bon Voyage Justin  & Joey" on it in bright, bold, neon pink paint. When Justin craned his neck, he could see the bottoms of Lance’s shoes, peeking out from behind a tire. What the hell was he doing? 

"Aw, Tweedle Dee decides to show," Chris said as Justin got out of the car, racing around to beat his momma to the trunk. He could carry his own stuff, thank you very much. "Tweedle Dum here," Chris gestured at Joey with his thumb, "was wondering if you were even going to come." 

"I slept in," Justin said, tossing his sleeping bag and his backpack onto the grass. The canoe, he noticed, was already tied to the top of Joey’s Explorer. Thank god. Last year, Justin had nearly gotten a concussion when one of Joey’s knots came loose. "I’m still on Japanese time." 

"Man, you guys are masochists," JC’s disembodied voice said. 

Justin opened his mouth to point out it was _tradition_ that he and Joey went on their fishing weekend, six years strong, but then his momma was kissing him goodbye and giving him random instructions and telling him not to drink too much before turning on Joey and doing the whole thing again. By the time his momma was out of driveway, waving, it seemed a moot point. 

"Hey, J," Joey said, knocking on Justin’s head with his balled up fist. 

"Hi," Justin said, dancing a little with the excitement pulsing through his legs. It was a little stupid to be looking forward to this weekend so much, but Justin loved traditions, and he really wanted a quick vacation. Japan had been all about sleep-deprivation, and they had the shoot for This I Promise You coming up and Puffy’s party on the second and about a million appearances and then the second leg of the tour. Justin just needed a few days away from it all. 

~~~ 

Chris had dubbed their annual fishing trip "two morons in the wilderness," which Justin didn’t think was all that fair. Growing up, Justin’s idea of a vacation had been spending his summers with his dad, playing Nintendo, eating takeout and staying up way too late. And Joey was the type of guy who’d spend his entire summer at Disney World and be perfectly happy. 

"If you don’t come back, we have two replacements lined up," Chris said as Lance and JC, having successfully squeezed Joey’s sleeping bag into a small, plastic-covered roll, loaded up the trunk. They were being unnaturally quiet, but Justin knew it was because they were both fighting laughter. Morons, all of them. "And you know, don’t let those fish scare you this year." 

"God, will you shut up?" Justin shoved at Chris’s shoulder, ignoring his gleeful laughter. 

"You’re just jealous because you’re not invited, fuckwad," Joey added, jingling his keys in his palm. When Chris still didn’t stop laughing, Joey shook the keys right in his face until Chris got pissed off and stepped back, teeth bared. "So what say we get this party on the road, huh?" 

Justin lifted his chin. "Good idea." 

"Have fun," Lance said, coughing behind his hand as JC dissolved into laughter beside him, and Chris joined in, loudly and obnoxiously. Justin was going to catch a school of fish just to spite them all. It was too early in the morning and Justin was too jet-lagged for this shit. 

"Relax, J," Joey said, tugging on one of Justin’s errant curls. Another reason Justin had been late was the fact he’d been unable to get the mess under control, and there was no way he was going into a world of bugs and twigs and dirt with a nest just ready to pick up all that crap. 

"We’re going to have so much fun!" Justin shouted, rolling down the window and poking his head out. Chris, Lance and JC had sunk to the ground laughing by then, but Justin wasn’t swayed. "When we get back, Joey and me are going to be so fucking tight." 

"Damn straight," Joey said, grinning. 

Chris’s loud "Enjoy your new best friend!" was the last thing Justin heard as he rolled up the window and gave the three of them the finger through the glass. Beside him, Joey laughed and pressed on the horn, waking up all the neighbours. _They_ wouldn’t have to deal with them. 

~~~ 

It was a mere two hours to Lake Istokpoga, where they planned on wearing as many identity-hiding hats as humanly possible. At the very end of August, most of the kids were back in school, but Justin didn’t want to risk having his one real vacation all year ruined. 

"Hey, J. Ignore the boneheads, all right? They just don’t understand," Joey said about an hour into the trip. Guiltily, Justin looked up. So maybe he had twisted up a napkin into a likeness of Chris and maybe he’d been systematically tearing it to shreds, but he hadn’t wanted Joey to notice. Eyes on the road and all that shit. "Though, fuck, how much fish are you gonna catch?" 

"A whole fucking _school_ of them," Justin said. 

"Fucking A, dude." Joey slapped his hands on the steering wheel. "Chris will be finding fish bits in his shit for, like, months. Smelly, gross fish bits. C and Lance, too!" Joey looked over, eyes wide and glimmering. "How long do you think they’d survive in the wilderness, J?" 

"Ten minutes," Justin said grimly. "Though, uh, we might not make it that much longer." 

"Oh, right. Eyes on the road when driving. I remember," Joey said, grinning. Justin laughed and reached for Joey’s CD wallet, flipping through it. Joey had the most eccentric taste in music ever. He was, like, a musical sponge, just absorbing everything, no matter how dorky. 

"What are you in the mood for, Joey?" 

Joey took his eyes off the road again, but Justin was ready this time. He grabbed the wheel and steered them as Joey looked over the collection of CDs on Justin’s lap, humming a little as he did. "If you put on some old school Guns ‘n’ Roses, I’ll do my Axl Rose impression." 

"Okay," Justin said, "but maybe I should drive, then. Safety first and shit, right?" 

There was absolutely no way Justin was giving up Joey’s stellar Axl Rose impression, even if it meant he had to drive. Not that Justin couldn’t drive, he and Joey had passed their tests on the same day, but it wasn’t his year to drive. They settled on this type of shit early to avoid stress. The next decade was planned out. Still, Joey gladly pulled over, and they switched seats. 

~~~ 

They sang Guns ‘n’ Roses tunes all the way to Lake Istokpoga, working their way through Use Your Illusion I, and continued with it through the forest, canoe hoisted above their heads and bodies weighted down with all their gear. This year, Justin’s pack was nearly as big as he was. Joey only tripped three times on random roots, and Justin stepped in something squishy just once. So far everything was off to a good start. Justin felt completely in control of his own destiny. 

It all started to go downhill once they found the perfect spot to set up camp. Joey had somehow managed to lose the English instructions to the fucking tent, and the other instructions, oddly, were completely in French. "Dude, this is our Canadian tent," Joey said, knocking his knuckles on Justin’s head. "Remember? Algonquin Park, two years ago. Our other one leaked." 

"Fuck," Justin said, laughing. It was all coming back to him, the happy memory curving down his spine. "That night sucked. With the bear, and the rain, and the fucking squirrel that kept running up your pant leg. Shit, man. And we thought he was confused and after your nuts?" 

"Sparky, that little bastard!" Joey laughed, looking back over his shoulder. He’d tied a do-rag over his head, too. Damp, red-tipped hair curled out beneath the edge. "I was ready to make him into supper, but then that lesbian couple across the way ran him over with their SUV." 

"I still say we should have had him stuffed then given him to C for Christmas." 

"Dude, whatever fish you want to turn into mummies this year, feel free. I won’t have to see them." Joey’s eyes narrowed, turning into dark, evil slits. "But I swear to god, J, if Lance gets a stuffed fish and puts it up on our bus as decoration? It’s your fine ass I’m going after." 

Justin grinned. When Joey body-checked him, Justin tipped over into the patchy grass, and nearly pissed his pants when Joey didn’t even manage another step before his ankle was twisted up in the ropes for the poles, going head-first into the partially standing tent. The sides puffed out like a balloon then folded in on themselves. Justin tossed back his head and laughed. 

~~~ 

They ate a quick lunch by their fire pit, the one thing they had managed to learn in the six years they’d been going fishing, before they gathered their fishing gear and got into the canoe. Well, _Joey_ got into the canoe. Justin tentatively followed when he was sure Joey was settled and the threat of capsizing had been significantly reduced. They pushed off backwards onto the still water. After a few false starts, they managed to get turned around and settled into a brisk paddle. 

"Yell when you hear the fish calling," Justin shouted into the breeze as he peered around. There was another canoe out on the water, but they were mere specks on the horizon. Other than that, though, no one else. Justin took a deep, cleansing breath and cut his paddle into the water. 

They canoed in circles for a half an hour before settling on the perfect spot. Justin made a big production of pulling on his fishing hat as Joey did the same. Three years ago, in another fish drought, they’d spent their time on the water adding touches to their hats with sharpies they had stolen from various autograph-desperate fans in the week previous to their trip. Though faded with time, Justin could still make out the pudgy fish with the X’s for eyes caught between the bookends of "FAT" and "ONE" on Joey’s hat. Justin’s own head was surrounded by a halo of very happy fish. So far, neither of them had discovered the secret of luring fish with their hats. 

"Whose year is it for the worms?" 

"Mine," Justin said glumly. 

"Then get to it, worm boy. I’m not touching those suckers. Two please." 

Joey held out his hook expectantly, and Justin took it, careful of his thumbs. Five years running, they’re both managed to harpoon themselves with the hooks, but this year was going to be the start of a new tradition in which they both walked away without injury. The worms were cold and slimly and squirmy, and Justin gagged a couple times before he got two on Joey’s hook and one on his own, closing up the lid to the Styrofoam container of worms and soil. 

"I’m going to smell like worms all weekend," Justin said, running his fingers through the water. Yuck, yuck and triple yuck. Justin hated bugs of all kinds, with their too-many legs or their complete lack of legs, and their general ickiness. On the flip side, Joey adored bugs with the one notable exception of worms, which left them in a sticky situation. Because yuck, _worms_. 

Joey cleared his throat and put on a British accent. "May I present a gift from me mum?" 

"You may," Justin said, rolling his hand and gesturing in Joey’s direction. 

"Scented hand sanitiser," Joey said simply, pulling a giant plastic bottle from the bag he’d brought with him. Justin reached for it like Chris in a candy store, popping the cap and squeezing a dollop into his palm. Joey squinted at it. "Jeez, that really looks like lube, man." 

Justin grinned, rubbing his hands together and covering every inch of his skin. The acrid scent of artificial flowers wafted up into Justin’s nose. It was enough to scare the fish away, but Justin really didn’t care. Worms smelled like ass. "You sure you didn’t bring that by mistake?" 

Joey snorted. "As if, man. Who am I gonna get lucky with, huh? _You_?" 

"Whoa, Fatone." Justin held up his hand. "Don’t knock the goods till you’ve tried them." 

"Yeah, I can just picture myself having sex with you. I’d fucking bust something, J!" 

Justin laughed as he cast his line, listening as the hook dropped into the water with a satisfying plop. "You overestimate how rowdy I am in bed, man. Seriously, I can be bendy, but I usually don’t wanna be. I say this as the guy who’s thrown his back out four times whacking off." 

"No wonder you don’t like it very much." Joey tugged on his line a few times, but it stayed loose. Suddenly, Joey laughed. "Man, I was gonna say that’s the only time I feel safe from injury, but then I remember that time with the microwave and the cantaloupe and the burns." 

Justin groaned as he reeled in his line. "That was sick, dude. Grossest shit I’ve ever seen." 

"Nah, man. That was nothing. I should have taken pictures of my dick that time I used one of those heavy duty dandruff shampoos as lube. Word to the wise, J, soap fucking _hurts_ ," Joey said, shuddering. Justin kept his mouth shut which set Joey off into gleeful laughter. "Dude, you never told me you knew about that. Solo stuff or what? Some guy tell you it was cool?" 

"I came up with it on my own, man. And it wasn’t my dick," Justin added, hot in the face. 

Joey whistled. "Ouch." 

"Don’t I know it," Justin said, "but I think all this sex talk is scaring away the fish." 

Joey snorted. "Is that our problem?" 

Justin just dragged a flowery-smelling finger and thumb across his lips, and Joey shut up. 

~~~ 

Four hours, and not a single fucking fish. Justin even saw one of the bastards swimming around, but it managed to get the worm without being hooked. Those things were wily creatures. Joey managed to reel in a half-deflated basketball, but that was it for him. It was very relaxing, so Justin had no major complaints. They played the pissing game over the side of the canoe, which Joey won by a good four or five inches. Next time, Justin was going to beat him for sure. 

"How’s the Britney thing working out for you?" 

Justin cast his line then shrugged. "It’s all right. We finally settled on the contract. Look for plenty of marriage rumours and a big messy break up in early 2002, I think. But dude, the one thing they don’t tell you about this beard business is how it fucking murders your sex life." 

"J, you gotta stop going for the classy girls. They’re not gonna cheat with you, dude." 

"I like classy girls," Justin said defensively. Chris had ragged on him for the same thing, but Justin would rather be celibate than hook up with most of the girls who tried to get at his dick. "They’re easier to bring home to my momma, you know? Hell, I don’t even know if I want a girl to bring home to my momma. Maybe I want a guy, I don’t know. I’m just saying it’s frustrating, and I’m really lonely, and I just want someone who isn’t trying to star-fuck me to share my bed." 

"You need a girl like Kelly," Joey said, "and don’t you dare say Kelly isn’t classy." 

Justin held up a hand before Joey could get going on his rant about gender inequalities and sexuality, how a guy who slept around was practically given his own golden cock for people to worship while a woman was called a slut and worse. Justin didn’t like it either, but Joey got _really_ worked up about it. "Kelly is plenty classy, but not all girls do casual like that, man." 

"Then get with a guy who’ll understand the beard business. Go for one in the industry." 

Justin groaned. "Dude, you know it’s not that easy." 

"It is that easy, man. You’re young, hot and famous. This is all you." Joey cast his line again, so quickly that Justin barely even saw its gold glint before it was yards away. "I get laid by guys more often than you, which is sad, dude. I’m not even trying. You’re just too damn picky." 

"I’m not too picky," Justin said, tugging impatiently at his line. "It’s just that hooking up with guys makes me nervous, and I go for a certain type of guy who generally isn’t interested in me. Brit’s been trying to hook me up with one of her dancers, but I don’t think I’m gonna for it." 

"Now there’s some sex that would wreck your back." 

"I know," Justin said glumly. 

They lapsed into comfortable silence. Justin tried to will a fish to hook itself on his line. Just one, it was all he was asking, one fucking fish to pose with. He’d toss the damn thing back and skip dinner if he had to, but he couldn’t face those three gleeful fuckers empty-handed again. 

~~~ 

When it started getting dark, they paddled back to shore and brought the canoe in. Maybe, Justin thought, they could buy a fish on the way home. It wasn’t like those three idiots would know a store-bought fish from a lake-stolen fish. Or a fake fish. A plastic fish would probably look real in pictures. Justin still remembered those rubber spiders Chris had found. 

"Hey, cheer up. Being pissy is absolutely forbidden on this trip. Don’t make me bug you into having a good time," Joey said warmly, coming up behind Justin and hooking his forearm lightly across Justin’s collarbone. His breath was hot on Justin’s cheek, and Justin tried to smile, even though he felt like a huge fish-less loser. "My mom got us all the stuff for s’mores, man." 

Justin smiled and leaned back a little into Joey’s arms. "Yeah?" 

"Yep. I’m all ready to pig out ..." 

Joey stopped talking abruptly. Justin looked up, and holy shit, he thought, there were two guys coming through the dusky shadows, wearing the shortest jean shorts Justin had ever seen. Handsome as fuck, too. The whole thing sorta reminded Justin of the beginning to a good porno. 

"Hey," the taller of the guys said, his voice heavy and deep with an Australian accent. 

Justin felt his knees buckle. He was incredibly easy when it came to guys with accents. 

"Hey," Joey said back. 

The other guy, the shorter one, stepped in front of his friend. "This is going to sound like the beginning of a bad porno, but we cooked way too much food. You guys are the only other signs of life we’ve seen out here, so we figured we’d offer some of it up. Normally, we’d just throw it out ..." 

"But someone," the taller guy said, "spent sixty dollars on steaks then cooked them all." 

" _Someone_ said he was hungry," the shorter guy replied sweetly. 

Joey laughed suddenly. He looked at Justin, who quickly nodded. All they’d brought were two packs of 100% all-beef wieners, not even the fancy ballpark kind, and the temptation of steak was enough to risk being poisoned by strangers, especially after a week of shitty food in Japan. 

"We’d love to join you," Joey said, tightening his arm across Justin’s shoulders. With his other hand, Joey made vague introductory gestures. "I’m Anthony, and this dude here is Jay." 

"Hi," Justin said, waving and feeling a little shy, which was pretty ridiculous, considering Justin dealt with strangers just about every day, but there was a world of difference between fans, radio disk jockeys and critics, and every-day normal people, who didn’t seem to realise who they were looking at. In the real world, where Justin was just a regular guy, he tended to be reserved. 

"I’m Colin," the taller guy said. 

"And I’m Bobby," the shorter guy said. "Come over whenever you’re ready, okay?" 

"Sure thing," Joey replied, his fingers splayed on the round of Justin’s shoulder. Justin looked at Joey’s hand then turned his eyes on Colin and Bobby, who were both smiling. Stupidly, Justin grinned back. There was something completely obvious that Justin knew he was missing, but for the life of him, he wasn’t making the connection. Oh well. He’d figure it out eventually. 

~~~ 

After quickly washing up, Joey grabbed a bottle of vodka as Justin gathered the stuff for s’mores, and they walked over to where Colin and Bobby had set up camp. They were obviously experienced campers. For one, their tent didn’t tilt to the extreme left, and Justin was slightly envious. There was no doubt in Justin’s mind that he was going to wake up tangled in canvas. 

It’d been so long since Justin had been treated like a normal guy that he had no idea how to act. He didn’t even know what was going on in the world, so he couldn’t strike up a conversation about politics or the news or, hell, even what was going on in entertainment. All Justin knew for sure was that band Nsync was huge and the five guys in it were living the life. 

Still, it was nice. Joey could engage a rock in conversation, so Justin mostly listened as Joey went on about everything, a big plate of steak and roasted potatoes balanced on his knees. Justin ate until he was full then kept on going. They weren’t kidding about the amount of steak. 

"How long have you been together?" Bobby asked as he mixed drinks, all four of them drinking vodka and orange juice out of plastic beer tumblers. Already, Justin was feeling a little dizzy. Nice, though, like all the tension in his limbs had crawled away and finally died. 

"Five years," Justin replied as Joey choked on a sudden mouthful of steak. Without thinking about it, Justin thumped him lightly on the back and passed him the dribble of remaining drink that Justin had in his cup. Good thing, then, that Bobby was making more. 

"Seven years for us," Colin said, smiling. "We met in university. We were roommates." 

"Me and um," Justin paused briefly, " _Anthony_ met ..." 

"In high school," Joey said, coughing to clear his throat. Justin continued to rub his back like his momma had always done for him. "In our last year of high school. We’re twenty-three." When Justin opened his mouth to contradict him, Joey stepped on his foot and crushed his toes. 

Bobby laughed and started passing out the drinks. "Just babies, then. Were you out?" 

"Out where?" Justin asked, taking the tumbler and immediately downing a gulp. Funny, he couldn’t even taste the vodka anymore, but he wasn’t _that_ drunk. At least, he didn’t think so. When Justin looked up again, Colin and Bobby were laughing, and Joey looked faintly bemused. 

"No," Joey said, "no, we weren’t out." 

Justin finished his dinner as Colin, Bobby and Joey switched the topic to Colin and Bobby’s world travels. He finished his drink, too. Later, when Colin and Bobby got up to find more wood for the fire, Justin leaned over and whispered in Joey’s ear, "Out where, man?" 

Joey just shook his head and laughed. 

~~~ 

It wasn’t until the s’mores that Justin really got it. He’d stopped drinking, fearing he would puke. Between all the water Joey kept making him swallow and stuffing himself with s’mores, Justin sobered up. Still, he wouldn’t have clued in if Colin hadn’t leaned in and licked the marshmallow off Bobby’s lips and lingered just a heartbeat too long. Oh, Justin thought, they’re together. There went his dreams of a night of hot sex with Bobby or Colin or both. 

They were together ... and uh oh. Justin looked down at Joey’s hand, which Justin had pulled into his lap for no apparent reason. Joey’s knee kept rubbing up against his, ruffling the hair. Oh Jesus, Justin thought. This was definitely one part of the trip Chris was not being told about. JC got enough shit from him for being the last one to get the joke, and _this_ was well beyond _that_. 

Justin acted cool as a cucumber until Colin and Bobby got up to empty their bladders. 

"They think we’re together," Justin hissed, putting his mouth against Joey’s ear then pulling back to gauge Joey’s reaction. 

Joey turned to look at him and snorted, but he didn’t pull his hand away, which was fine. Justin wasn’t sure he was willing to let go. It felt nice to have someone sitting too close. This beard nonsense with Britney just wasn’t fulfilling. Joey leaned in and whispered, "Well, no shit." 

"They don’t know who we really are?" 

"Nah, I don’t think so. It must be our clever disguises," Joey added, tugging at the rim of Justin’s fishing hat. Justin looked up until his eyes hurt then nodded. Must be, Justin figured, because there was no such thing as gay guys who didn’t know who Nsync was. At that, Justin grinned and put his head on Joey’s shoulder. Joey chuckled, his laughter rumbling lightly. "Man, if all I had to do to make you smile was get you drunk and pretend to be your boyfriend ..." 

"I’ve been a little surly, haven’t I?" 

"Just a teensy bit," Joey said, his eyes crinkling at the corners. 

"From now on, man, I’m gonna be the funnest guy _ever_ ," Justin vowed solemnly. 

Joey laughed, helping Justin sit upright again. Justin hadn’t even noticed he’d begun to tip over into Joey’s lap. "Okay, J. You just do that. Want some more s’mores? I think our hosts are doing it in the forest under the pretence of taking a piss. They’ve been gone awhile." 

"I thought I was gonna get lucky," Justin said glumly. 

"Night’s still young, kid," Joey replied, smiling. 

~~~ 

Pretending Joey was his boyfriend turned out to be the most fun Justin had experienced in ages. By the time it became obvious that Colin and Bobby just wanted them gone, Justin was in a fantastic mood. Justin felt blissfully normal, and though he was weary to the bone, he was so past the point of utter exhaustion that he didn’t want to sleep. Justin wanted to swim instead. 

"J," Joey said helplessly, laughing as Justin struggled to get out of his shorts. Justin wasn’t drunk, really. It was just that in his enthusiasm, he’d lost all control of his suddenly gangly limbs. He was so very sober. If he was drunk then he wouldn’t be swimming. His momma would kill him, otherwise. "C’mon, man. It’s late. We can go swimming tomorrow." 

"I’m going to call the fish to us," Justin said, wrenching off his shirt and dropping it to the sand, which squished wetly between his toes. For a moment, he just stood there, hands lifted above his head, belly taut with the breath he held. "And Joey, I’m _really_ sober, so it’s okay." 

"Well, you did stop drinking a while ago," Joey said slowly, like he didn’t want to believe it. He looked Justin up and down, and whoa, Justin thought, did he just check me out? When he squinted questioningly, Joey just looked away. "Whatever, man. I’ll be your David Hasselhoff." 

"Or you can come swimming with me." Justin lifted his eyebrows, knowing Joey was two second away from giving in. Joey was awful when it came to peer pressure, bowing like a reed in the wind. Which was good, because sometimes Joey got so wound up trying to make sure everyone was happy that he needed a good kick in the ass towards relaxation and skinny-dipping. "C’mon, Joey, you know you want to, so get nekkid and follow me in, all right?" 

Joey rolled his eyes, but he was already tugging off his shorts and shirt. Justin wiggled his ass then ran into the water, diving under the surface and coming up a few feet from where he started. Joey splashed up next to him, his red-tipped hair sticking to his head like a helmet. Justin didn’t even want to know what his own hair was gonna look like tomorrow morning. 

"They’re probably doing it right now," Justin said, grinning. 

"Maybe if we’re quiet we can hear them," Joey replied. 

Justin strained his ears trying to catch even a whimper in the breeze, but either they were really quiet or they weren’t having sex. Justin put his vote on being very quiet. Two hot guys like that probably couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Justin often felt the same way about the group, the five of them. Sometimes, he was truly amazed he’d never slept with any of them. 

"Have you ever slept with, you know, anyone in the group?" Justin whispered after it became obvious they weren’t hearing anything. He also knew stuff carried across water, and the last thing he needed was for some gaggle of girls downwind to hear Joey Fatone very clearly say, 

"Nope." 

Justin was actually surprised by the admission. If anyone in the group had fooled around, Justin would have put his money on Joey and Lance, even if it was limited to kissing. In Europe, they’d been pretty intense about the other’s friendship. Probably the same could be said for him and Chris, but Justin could never sleep with Chris. They’d fight through it, and that would suck. 

"Why? Have you?" Joey asked after a moment, his eyes wide with the same surprise that continued to curl around Justin’s belly. 

The aforementioned type of guy that Justin was interested in, who generally wasn’t interested in him? Usually friends, usually guys he’d known forever. Being in Nsync was like living in hell, minus the fire and the brimstone and the agonising eternal pain. Sometimes, Justin just wanted to fuck them all, simply to get it out of his system. As if that would actually _work_. 

Justin snorted. "I _wish_." 

"Yeah?" Joey’s voice held a note of eagerness that made Justin’s stomach swim, but not with surprise this time. More like ... warmth, and excitement, and whoa, Justin thought, Joey is seriously checking me out again. Shit, how drunk was he? Should they even be swimming? 

Probably not, but instead of getting out of the water like Justin intended, he kinda stepped right into Joey’s sculpted arms, and then they were kissing. Real kissing, openly and with tongue, the kind that made Justin want to take off his clothes and have sex. Being naked already, Justin skipped right to the latter, pressed flush against Joey, arms looped around his neck. 

"What are we doing, J?" Joey asked between kisses, Justin’s lower lip caught between his teeth. They lasted all five words before they were kissing again, hot and deep, like needy wanton desperate virgins. Justin couldn’t remember ever kissing like this. "J, seriously, man." 

Justin licked his lips and swallowed hard. "We’re gonna have sex, you know." 

"I figured," Joey said, lowering his mouth to Justin’s again. "Just checking." 

~~~ 

The thing was, Justin wasn’t drunk. Buzzed, maybe, but definitely not wasted. Maybe tomorrow, he’d blame it on the moon or a sugar high or being horny, but probably not. Justin didn’t do anything without wanting to do it. It was just the way he was. Occasionally, it took him a while to realise what he really wanted. Five years, in Joey’s case. Justin wanted him _bad_. 

They stumbled out of the water because two guys having sex in plain view in Florida was nine shades of illegal. Maybe they laughed all the way across the sand, but Justin always laughed when he was nervous. Years of bragging about how good he was in bed, of which Joey was equally guilty, had finally brought him to the point where he had to actually be spectacular. 

Justin stopped Joey as he bent down to enter the tent. "Dude, if I suck, it’s all nerves." 

"Ditto," Joey said and crawled inside, flashing his pale ass. 

Like a moth to a flame, Justin followed. In his head, there was already a line up of people who were going to kick the crap out of him for doing this with Joey. Chris was first, his momma was second, Johnny was third. JC and Lance were actually low on the list. They would totally fuck each other if JC was even a shade of queer and Lance could stop sleeping with models. 

But Joey. Now that he was lying there, watching Justin with his dark sexy eyes, Justin didn’t know what to do with him. Well, he knew, of course. It wasn’t like he was a virgin or even freshly deflowered. Three years of sporadic experience wasn’t much, but Justin _had_ skills. 

"Can I blow you?" Justin asked, wetting his lips, knowing Joey’s answer already. 

"If you let me do it back." 

"Deal," Justin said, keeping his eyes on Joey’s cock. It’d been months since he’d last gotten laid, even longer since it’d been a guy. Justin had the same sort of fluttery feeling in his belly that he still got every Christmas morning when he stumbled downstairs for presents. 

"J, I hate to tell you this, but you can’t blow a guy with your eyes," Joey said, grinning. 

"Shut up," Justin murmured, but he was smiling, too. 

Justin meant to get right into the blowjob, really he did, but he got distracted by Joey’s open mouth. He slithered up Joey’s body, and they made out intensely until they were both covered with a thin sheen of sweat. Justin was impossibly hard, and his dick kept skidding against Joey’s soft belly, undoubtably leaving sticky trails behind. Come morning, Joey was going to find the map of Justin’s desire etched on his skin. That thought was impossibly sexy. 

Eventually, when Justin was on the cusp of coming, he started making his leisurely way down Joey’s body, stopping to suck his nipples and tease them into points. Down further, and Justin dropped all pretense of taking his sweet ass time. Joey’s cock fit perfectly into his mouth, already slick with pre-cum, and Justin licked it clean with determined swipes of his tongue. 

"God," Joey moaned, trying to spread his legs, but Justin was on his thigh, using the warm muscle to thrust against. Way things were going, Joey wasn’t going to be able to get his mouth on Justin’s dick, and Justin didn’t actually care. Still, when Joey reached down and put his hands on Justin’s hips, pulling him around, Justin went with it. His mouth never left Joey’s cock. 

It was Justin’s turn to moan when Joey’s mouth found his dick. In theory, he’d always thought sixty-nine-ing would be distracting and clumsy and porny, like one of those sex acts that always looked good on a television screen and then really sucked when you tried it out for real. But it was nothing like that. It just spurred Justin onward, going deeper on Joey’s cock than he ever had before, even on the guys he’d slept with whose dicks had been more manageable than Joey’s. 

Justin came first, and Joey came about a minute later, which Justin would have worried reflected poorly on his technique, but years of whacking off on the bus had been a testament to Joey’s stamina. Justin knew Joey could go all night and not come, so it was actually nice that he had. 

Joey hauled Justin against him and giving him a kiss on the head. Still hooked together, they managed to squeeze into Justin’s sleeping bag. It was a bit of a tight squeeze, but Justin was suddenly freezing as the sweat on his skin cooled. "Jeez, you’re good at that, you know?" 

Justin grinned and squirmed a little closer. "Well, you’re not half bad yourself, Joey." 

"Mmm," Joey replied, but it sounded like he was about ready for sleep, and Justin was more than happy to follow him there. Suddenly, the week of sleep deprivation in Japan hit him squarely in the belly, and Justin felt like he could sleep for nine years and still not wake rested. 

~~~ 

When Justin open his eyes, "Morning Has Broken," the Cat Stevens’s version, was running through his head. No wonder, since Joey was humming it in his sleep. Weird, Justin thought, but it was about the only weird thing. Justin was surprisingly calm about the squeezed naked into a sleeping bag with Joey thing. Last night was crystal clear, and Justin didn’t regret it. 

Justin had to pee like nobody’s business, so he unzipped his way to freedom and stepped outside into the new morning air. He took a deep breath then walked barefoot to the tree they’d been using as a urinal, using it to prop himself upright as he went. The birds were chirping, and his belly was rumbling. The sky was clear, and Justin could almost hear the fish calling him. 

The lone downer was his hair, which looked suspiciously like the head of a dandelion when Justin checked it out in the mirror. If only his pride would let him wear swim caps in the water, but his _grandma_ wore those things, and Justin had an image of coolness to maintain. 

Justin walked back to the camp, sitting his bare ass down on one of the logs they were using as seats. He got the fire going and started to warm up, crouching right at the edge of the pit. His stomach growled again, and Justin rubbed idly at it. Wieners or left-over peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast, that was the question. He felt inexplicably drawn to the hot dogs. 

He had stripped a few branches, stuck them into the wieners and roasted them by the time Joey stumbled out, looking bleary and confused. He made of a face of longing at the food then darted behind the tree, moaning his relief so loudly that Justin heard it and laughed. When Joey came back, his eyes were actually open, and he was smiling. Justin couldn’t help but smile back. 

Joey plopped down on the nearest stump and leaned forward. "You willing to share?" 

"Oh, I _suppose_ ," Justin said, grinning. 

Hot dogs for breakfast, it was a novel idea. Justin preferred cereal, but there was something to be said for wieners. For one, they were incredibly tasty for all their questionable ingredients. For two, they had a very pleasing shape, which Joey started demonstrating on his second one with sensuous glides of his tongue and a wide open grin. _Bastard_ , Justin thought. 

Never one to be outdone, Justin sucked the lukewarm end of his hot dog between his lips, hollowing out his cheeks as he swallowed it down. That seemed to be the death knell of whatever fucked up foreplay they were attempting. They scrambled inside the tent, and Justin knew, if they’d been wearing clothes, they would have been ripping them off with their fucking _teeth_. 

~~~ 

"Maybe if we soaked the worms in tequila first then we’d have better luck. Everybody likes booze. My dog likes booze," Joey said after a long afternoon of nothing. He stuck his arm into the lake and twirled it around like he thought the taste of human flesh would reel in the fish. 

Justin pushed up the edge of his fishing hat then rubbed at the sweat beading on his brow. Lord, it was hot. "Did you ever see that movie about the piranhas that, like, attacked people and ate them? I think it was even called Piranha. It sucked something awful, too. I saw it on Fox." 

Justin watched as Joey quickly pulled his arm of the water. It was noble that Joey was even still trying to find signs of life in the lake. Justin had given up an hour before, claiming the lake was obviously a dead zone and cutting off his growing frustration before it completely ruined his day. Justin was still blissed out and relaxed from all the fabulous head going around. 

"Did the piranhas chew through the raft these guys were on?" Joey asked after a minute. 

"Yeah, I think so." 

"That movie sucked donkey balls." Joey sat back, using a couple life jackets to cushion his head. The canoe bobbed unsteadily for a moment, but if there was one thing Justin knew it was how to guess Joey’s next move and do the opposite. It was a game they had been known to play on the bus when they were bored. "You ever see a movie called Orca the Killer Whale?" 

"I don’t think so." Justin paused. "Should I?" 

"No," Joey said. He spread his legs and hooked his calves over the side of the canoe, his heels barely brushing the water. Justin tried to keeps his eyes off the bulge in Joey’s shorts, but Joey was practically flashing his dick, forcing Justin to look. What a mean guy, that Joey Fatone. "There’s only one movie related to the horrors lurking beneath the water’s surface that anyone should bother to see, and that’s Jaws. Steven Spielberg is the only dude allowed near the ocean." 

"What about the Abyss? I liked that one, and that wasn’t Spielberg, right? It was ... James Cameron. Yes? No?" Justin pushed his hat up again, straining his eyes to see Joey’s face. "Am I a bad pupil who hasn’t listened to a word you’ve said for the last five years?" 

Joey hummed a little, dropping his hand into his lap and honest to fuck _rubbing_. "You’ve got that right, and I guess I understand what you’re saying, but the Abyss was an underwater rip off of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which was also Spielberg. And James Cameron gave us Titanic, which is a fucking crime regardless of how many people in this canoe cried during it." 

"I was having a bad day when I watched it," Justin muttered, crossing his arms over his chest and tucking his chin into the dip of sweat-soaked skin at the base of his throat. If Justin hadn’t taken off his shirt, he would have pulled it up to his eyes. Heat was crawling up the back of his neck, arcing over his ears. Justin knew he would be mercilessly teased about _that_ little indiscretion until the day he died, but the movie _had_ been pretty fucking sad, all in all. 

"Sure, man," Joey mumbled, but he didn’t much look like he was paying any sort of attention to their conversation. Justin stayed very, very still, anticipating Joey’s next move. He _willed_ Joey hand to move to the zipper on his shorts, to tug it teasingly down, to pull out his dick. Justin had this kink, you could say, about jerking off. While he didn’t do it too much for a myriad of neurotic reasons not limited to back injury, he fucking _loved_ watching other people do it. 

Joey’s hand lingered on his groin, just resting there, and Justin began to wonder if it was actually a subconscious thing and Joey wasn’t actually going to beat off. A strange sort of whining sound built in Justin’s throat, all desperate and needy, and Joey raised his eyebrows at it. 

"J, are you waiting for something, man?" 

Justin chewed his lower lip between his teeth then nodded. He grinned a little, too. 

"That’s dirty, dude. I didn’t know you had it in you." 

"Please?" 

"Anything for you, J," Joey said as his fingers pinched the metal zipper, pulled it down so. fucking. slowly. Shit, Justin noticed as Joey reached inside, his fingers already curled and just a flex away from a tight fist, he’s seriously gonna do it ... and he’s not wearing underwear, like he’d been planning it. Justin looked up, grinning, and Joey grinned back, his eyes two happy narrow slits. 

~~~ 

There was irony, Justin supposed as they paddled back to shore, that during Joey’s one-man masturbation show, Justin had lost his fishing rod over the side of the canoe, tugged away by some unknown assailant. A smarter man would have reeled in his line when he gave up on the active fishing, but Justin had been hoping, subconsciously of course, that he would get lucky, and he had, in a sense, even if he didn’t have a fish to show for it, and no fishing rod either. 

"I think you can afford to buy a new one, J," Joey said as they paddled back. Even though he was practically yelling it, Justin could barely hear him as the wind rushed by his ears. It is not going to rain, Justin told himself. You are having an amazing vacation, and it is not going to rain. 

"You know who stole it, don’t you? The biggest fish in the whole fucking lake." 

"Probably, but why stress it, dude? It obviously outwitted us. We never stood a chance." 

By the time they pulled up to shore, dragging the canoe onto the sand and bringing in Joey’s rod and the tackle box, Justin was simmering in something akin to rage. All his good feelings were gone, replaced by the same sort of overwhelming frustration and aggravation that had followed him into this weekend. A fucking _fish_ had stolen his fucking _fishing_ _rod_. 

"Hey," Joey said, grabbing Justin by the wrist, "follow me. I gotta show you something." 

Which was how Justin found himself pushed up against the rough bark of a tree, shorts around his ankles. If Justin looked down, he would come. Even thinking about Joey on his knees made his balls tighten. Joey, his smiling mouth open around Justin’s dick, the sweet hollow of his cheeks, the determined pink slice of his tongue. Uselessly, Justin curled his toes into the moist mess of leaves and dirt, trying to fight off his impending orgasm, but it was hopeless. 

"Better?" Joey asked, standing up and brushing his knees clean. 

Justin swallowed, his heart still racing up his throat. "Yeah. Just peachy." 

"Fab," Joey said, giving Justin’s satisfied cock one last delicious squeeze through Justin’s shorts. "Now, the rules of camping reciprocity dictate that we gotta go over to Colin and Bobby and see if they want to join us for dinner. Hopefully, they’ll bring the alcohol and the dessert." 

"Hopefully," Justin agreed, his eyes still crossed. His brain was a puddle in his head, all gooey and useless, and Justin was just really repeating stuff back, like a parrot. If his brain was even still there at all, and Justin wouldn’t have been surprised if Joey had sucked it clean out. Which was fine since didn’t need it for a while. Justin only had one question to ask it, anyway. 

Why the hell had he waited so long to hook up with Joey? 

~~~ 

Colin and Bobby were evidently hoarding all the fish. They brought over two largemouth bass, freshly plucked from the lake. Motherfucker, Justin thought. Sheepishly, he stuck the package of wieners back into the cooler and tried to be enthusiastic about eating the bastards. The fish, Justin meant, not Colin and Bobby. They couldn’t possibly be as hot in bed as Joey. 

"Not having any luck out there?" Colin asked as he gutted the fish with a thin knife. 

"Not really," Justin admitted, trying to swallow his envy. "Where are y’all finding them?" 

"Um." Colin at least had the decency to look a little apologetic. "Everywhere?" 

Justin had to suffer through dinner, listening to their tales of all the fish they’d caught, how one had nearly jumped into their canoe, how they’d thrown back most of them. Joey seemed to be living vicariously through them, which was actually a brilliant idea. They could _steal_ Colin and Bobby’s stories about the schools of fish desperate to be on their hooks. Chris and JC and Lance would never know the difference, would they? Except there were no pictures. 

Glumly, Justin poked at his fish, savouring each delicious mouthful. When he looked over at Joey, Justin noticed his plate was still full, even if everything had been pushed around and cut up into pieces. Justin raised an eyebrow, but Joey just shook his head sharply. When Colin and Bobby weren’t looking, Justin shovelled everything Joey hadn’t eaten onto his own plate. 

"Are you not feeling well?" Justin asked quietly, later. 

"Fine, J." Joey squeezed his knee then grinned. "Don’t worry about me, all right?" 

Wordlessly, Justin nodded. When Joey leaned over for a kiss, Justin gladly gave it. 

~~~ 

Justin thought about suggesting they try night-fishing after Colin and Bobby left after dinner, booze and dessert was consumed, but he was too comfortable to move, sitting between Joey’s legs down on the beach. The stars were twinkling brightly in the sky. Twice, two of them streaked across the dark canvas, leaving long wispy trails. Justin made two wishes. 

"Remember the first time we did this?" Justin asked quietly, playing with the hairs on Joey’s arms. There was no reason for them to continue to pretend they were, like, hardcore boyfriends, but there was no reason for them to stop either. It felt right, so Justin went with it. 

Joey chuckled lowly, warm breath cutting through the helmet of Justin’s hair. "Yeah." 

It hadn’t been Justin, originally, who was supposed to go with Joey. It had been Steve and then after he fell through, Jason. Jason had fucked off the day before, leaving Joey with all the supplies, a camping site reserved and paid for, and not a soul to go with him. The problem, as Justin understood it, had been that Joey no longer had anyone to drive him there. 

"I asked everyone but you to go. I was trying to be so secretive, too. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings," Joey admitted, smiling when Justin looked up at him. Joey had a really great smile, Justin had always thought that. When Justin looked back at his time on the MMC set, he realised he remembered Joey’s smile more than he remembered Joey himself. It was _that_ great. 

"You didn’t, really. I wouldn’t have wanted to hang with a fourteen-year-old kid, either." 

Joey snorted. "I didn’t ask because I knew you couldn’t drive, which sort of defeated the point, you know? Of course, I didn’t count on you getting your mom to agree to drive us there and back, when it was a three hour one-way trip. Twelve hours, J, just so we could camp. I never told you how she ripped into me, making me promise that you wouldn’t drown, that I wouldn’t let you eat poisoned berries or diseased fish, that you wouldn’t be abducted by yetis." 

"Some things never change, huh?" 

"I’m just glad she never made me promise to keep my hands off you or then I’d be in serious trouble." Joey gnawed a little at Justin’s jaw, tickling the skin with his beard stubble. "It was probably an unspoken rule, but I’m not good with those, man. I need it laid out straight." 

"Or not so straight." Justin grinned when Joey bopped him affectionately on the head. 

"So," Joey said after a moment of lazy comfortable silence, "you up for round four?" 

Justin grinned, leaning back into Joey’s arms. " _Yup_." 

~~~ 

Justin woke up early, before the sun had even risen. His limbs felt deliciously leaden, his sore back twinging with each cautious movement. Joey’s fault, of course, for not letting him come until he was a huge knotted ball of tension, every muscle in his body tightened in anticipation. He liked to let the guys think all the jerking off injuries came from him doing something wild, like trying to give himself head or getting into some implausible fucking position, but the truth of the matter was that he got Charlie-horses when he was sexually tense. 

"Hey," Justin whispered in Joey’s ear, curling a hand around Joey’s ass and pulling him close enough that their cocks bumped. Justin’s dick twitched, but he was completely fucked out after coming twice last night. Four times in one day, five times in a little over twenty-four hours; Justin hadn’t thought he could actually do it. "You wanna get some fishing in before we leave?" 

Joey groaned, trying to bury his head in his pillow, but he nodded. Justin got dressed quickly, the early morning air nipping at his skin, and when he stepped outside, he took a great big stretch then went to pee. Joey joined him a few seconds later, looking bleary and exhausted. 

"I’ll drive home ..." 

"Thanks," Joey said. 

"... old man." 

Joey chased him to the canoe, waving his fist and laughing, and Justin danced away from him, grinning. Even when Joey caught him by the waist and hoisted him clear off the ground, Justin refused to apologise for mocking the fact that Joey was not only tired but impotent. They shook hands once as a peace agreement was reached. They weren’t three feet from shore when the canoe tipped over, completely of its own accord. Laughing, they ran back to the tent to find something dry to wear, and started again. Well, not before making out some, of course. 

"You are a sex fiend," Joey said as they limped back to the canoe, holding hands. The front of Justin’s shorts were tented, but Justin knew if they started anything that it would take a good hour to coax anything out of his dick. Joey, on the other hand, was fascinated. "Seriously, dude, how can you keep going? I woke up soft for the first time since I was, like, _ten_." 

"My vote is to just ignore it." Any more, and he’d have no skin left on his cock. 

"I guess I can try," Joey said, grinning. "You’re asking a lot of my willpower, though." 

"Maybe later," Justin conceded, "if we have time." 

"Maybe," Joey agreed. 

~~~ 

Justin would have missed the subtle tug on Joey’s line if he hadn’t just taken the fishing rod into his own hands as Joey leaned over the side, going, "Here, fishy fishy fishy. We have a big fat wiggling worm for you that we would like you to eat," in a high-pitched helium-like voice. 

"Oh my god," Justin said when it happened again, fumbling for the reel and starting to cautiously bring the line back in. Please, god just one lousy fish, Justin thought, it’ll be good for my self-esteem. "I think we seriously caught something, like, something that’s actually alive." 

Joey peered over the edge again. "No shit." 

Justin nodded, trying to keep his attention on the reel. Round and round and round, and he could see it, the silvery gleam of its scales through the calm water. Joey grabbed for the line, nearly tipping them again, and pulled it clean out. Well, Justin thought, that’s definitely a fish. 

"Wow," Justin said slowly, peering at the fish as it wiggled on the line, "that’s really ..." 

Joey started to blink rapidly, the corners of his mouth turning downwards. 

Justin bit his lip. It was a little ... smallish, compared to the fish they’d had for dinner. 

Joey cupped the little guy in his palm and dipped him back under the surface. Gently, Joey started trying to ease the giant hook out of the fish’s tiny mouth. "I’m sorry, J, but I don’t care how great a snack this dude will make. I can’t let you eat him. He’s just a baby fish." 

"No, I couldn’t. I’m not a monster, man," Justin said, leaning over to hold the little dude as Joey freed him. He looked a little frayed around the edges by the time he was unhooked, but Justin figured it was better than being someone’s dinner. They waved to him as he swam away. 

~~~ 

"So I haven’t been completely honest about this fishing thing we do," Joey said as they packed up the Explorer, having dragged all their slightly-worse-for-wear equipment back through the woods. The canoe was already on the roof, which Justin was trying to tie down with a rope. "I’m not exactly here for the fishing part of it. I’m here more for the _you_ part of it." 

Justin glanced over his shoulder. "Tell me you haven’t been sabotaging my efforts." 

"Not exactly," Joey said slowly. "I just haven’t been making it easy, and I _have_ been pulling the worms off my own hook when you aren’t looking, even though worms are so fucking gross. But I haven’t ever tried to, you know, save the fishes from you. You do that on your own." 

Justin jumped off the back of the car then sat down on the bumper, leaning against the trunk. Joey looked sheepishly apologetic, and Justin held out his hand, smiling when Joey took it and walked up to rest between Justin’s legs. "You could have just told me you didn’t like fish." 

"I love fish, but entirely as pets. Remember me telling you about Goldie the Goldfish?" 

Justin looked up at him. "The one that Steve used to dress up in Barbie’s clothing?" 

"Right. That’s the one. Anyway, after him, I never ate fish again, even on Good Friday." 

Justin put his hands on Joey’s hips, hooking his thumbs into the front pockets of Joey’s jeans. Despite the cars whizzing by, Justin wasn’t nervous. Part of the reason Justin loved these annual fishing weekends was that he, finally, just blended in. It wasn’t an easy feat these days. 

"You’re a good actor," Justin said, grinning. "An incredible freak, but also a good actor." 

"Thanks, dude. I’m just glad you’re not pissed at me." 

Justin tugged Joey a little closer by the pockets. "I still want to do this with you." 

The skin around Joey’s eyes crinkled. "I wouldn’t think about stopping our annual fishing trip, J. They’re too much fun. I’m even cool about the fishing thing. I just can’t witness anything, or I flashback to Goldie and wimp out completely. And no baby fish. I’m sensitive, you know." 

"I was talking about us actually," Justin said, "but that’s good to know, too." 

Joey leaned in close, his smile warm and open against Justin’s cheek. "So you’re offering to make an honest man of me, are you?" 

"Something like that," Justin agreed, laughing. 

~~~ 

When they pulled into Joey’s driveway, Chris was standing there with a big sign that said, "welcome back, Justin & Joey" in neon green lettering. Chris, Justin thought, had way too much time on his hands. JC and Lance were holding something that looked suspiciously like a cake. 

"Do you ever get the sense that our friends are complete lunatics?" 

Joey laughed. "All the fucking time, man." 

They didn’t have long until they had to be at the airport to fly to New York for the party that Puff Daddy was throwing in East Hampton. Busy little fucking bees, Justin thought, but he felt less frantic about it, more like he could handle anything thrown at him. Even seeing Chris, who had driven Justin crazy from beginning to end of the trip to Japan, didn’t piss Justin off. 

"Have a good time?" Chris asked, following them inside with JC and Lance close behind, still holding that damn cake. Hopefully, it could be wrapped up and taken on the plane, which would be a welcome lunch after a weekend of wieners and various other meats and fish. 

"The best ever, thank you," Justin replied, wondering if he had time to take a shower or, better, if he had time to take a shower _with_ Joey. His cock was still a little plump, and they’d at least have fun seeing if Justin could manage to come again, maybe even achieve that dry orgasm JC was always going on about after having read an article in Cosmo. "It was so much fun." 

"Best weekend ever," Joey agreed, hooking his arm around Justin’s waist. "We even caught a fish, but he was just a baby, so we threw him back. And no dire injuries, either." 

Justin grinned. "And the canoe only tipped once, for no good reason." 

"And we met these hot Australian guys, who had been together for seven years." 

"And they thought we were boyfriends," Justin added, sliding his hand possessively across Joey’s belly. 

"And now we actually are." 

"And Joey and I fucked each other’s brains out," Justin finished. 

"I guess you weren’t kidding about coming back tight, huh?" Chris paused, and Justin smirked, already anticipating the punch line. "Or loose, I guess. Don’t tell me, either way. I don’t think I want to know." They needed to have a talk later, him and Chris, about apologies. 

"Either of you two boneheads have anything to add?" Joey asked. 

JC and Lance exchanged looks but said nothing, just held the cake out a little more, and Justin could see it more clearly now. There was a bunch of small plastic fish swimming in a sea of bright blue icing and a red blob that looked vaguely like a squid in the top lefthand corner, its long tentacles curving around the ankles of two plastic groomsmen. In the middle, on a square of white chocolate designed to look like a piece of driftwood, it said: " ~~Just Married~~ Gone Fishing".


End file.
